Air-pipe coupling.



PATBNTBD AUG.'4, 1190s..

I. J. THATGHER. AIRPIPB GOUPLING.

APPLIUATIN FILEDAPB. 9. 1903.

1m: mams grins oo. PHOTO urna wxsmnavou o c UNITED STATES PATENT Patented August 4, 1903.

OFFICE.

THOMAS J. THATCHER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF'OE-TIAIIRD 'lO C. D. SAVIERS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

AIR-PlPE-QOUPLING.

SBEClFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,316, dated August 4, 1903.

` i Application filed A pril 9, 1903. Serial N o. 151,772. (No model.)

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. THATOHER,

a citizen of the United States,`residing at Co` lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and use ful Improvement in Air-Pipe Couplings, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the train-pipes of` air-brake systems for railway-cars, and has for its object to provide an improved coupler and manner of rigging the train-pipes, so as to automaticallyaccommodate the same to the movements of the carsin rounding curves,

ing over rail-joints andV other uneven portions ot the track without danger of breaking or impairing the coupling in anymanner whatsoever.

With these and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement ot' parts, as will be herein-' after more fully described, shown in the acl; companying drawings,and particularly point-I ed out in the appended claims, it being un-` derstood'thatchanges in the form,l proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without de-I parting from the spirit ,or sacrificing any ot',`

the advantagesof the invention.

View of a train-pipe coupler embodying the features ofuthe presentinvention. F-ig."2 is a vertical lon gitudinalsectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 isa detail cross-sectional viewon the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. I.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each and every figure of the drawings.

Although the device of the present invention has not been shown in connection with a car, itwill be understood that it is hung` from the bottom of the car, preferably by means of a substantially U-shaped hanger 1, Athe oppositeupper en'd portions of lwhich are provided "withoutturned anges 2, having perforations for the reception of suitable fastenings to secure the flanges dat against the center sills or draft-timbers of the bottom "frame of a car, with the lower portion of the hanger disposed below the draft-timbers, so

under draft and bu'ing strains, and in pass-A In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective` as to support the train-pipe` couplerbelow the car-coupler. This dispositionof parts being so apparent it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate anything except the coupler and the hanger therefor.

Within each hanger there is a verticallyslidable member 3, preferably in the form of a rectangular block, which is provided in its opposite vertical edges with open-ended 6o grooves 4., forming guidew'ays for the reception of the respective upright portions of the hanger, whereby the block is held against horizontal movements and is capable ofsliding vertical upon the hanger, the cross-bar 5 at the bottom of the hanger forming a stop or support to prevent theblock from falling downwardly from the hanger. Normally the block of course rests upon the bottom of the play ac- 7o hanger, and therefore has a vertical cordng to the length of the hanger.

In front of the hanger is the coupler proper, embodying a relatively iixed head 6, from which extends a reduced rearwardly-directed and polygonal neck portion 7 integral there- 75 withand working endwise through a corresponding central polygonal opening 8 in the guide block or. member 3, whereby the coupler may move back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the train and may also move 8o vertically with the guide-block 3, but is held against `lateral bodily movement. Throughout the neck and head extends a longitudinal boreor passage 9,'-and a metallic pipe lOis screw-threaded into the rearend of thispassage or otherwise rigidlycon'ne'cted tothe rear end of theneck in communication with the passage 9 to form a continuation thereof and also toform 4a guiding-stem. For the support ofil the rear' end of the pipe or stem 9o 10 there isa' yoke-shaped frame 11, the rear end of which isprovided with an opening for the slidable reception of the tubular stem,

while the front end portions of ,tliesides of l the frame pierce the rear flanges of the guide- 9 5y block 3` and extend across the backs of the guideways 4, 'suitablefastenings 12 being set through the sides of the frame and into the block to rigidly secure the frame thereto. i It will ot' course be understood that the sides roo of the frame are let in flush with the backs of the guideways 4, so as not to interfere out the length of the movable head member Y tions against the relatively fixed rear end of the frame and against the shoulder formed by the rear end of the neck 7, whereby the coupler is yieldably held at its forward limit and may give or yield rearwardly against the tension of the spring under buifing strains. To limit the forward movement of the coupler, an annular stop-shoulder, liange, or collar 14 is rigidly secured to the rear end ofy the tubular stem 10 and in rear of the frame 11, so as to normally lie against the rear end of the frame 'and hold the coupler from being displaced under the action of the spring. The tubular stem lO is projected rearwardly beyond the shoulder or flange 14 and is provided with an external coarse screw-threaded portion 15 for engagement by a flexible hose-section '16, which isv in turn connected to the adjacent train-pipe in any preferred or common and well-known manner, said flexible hose-section being designed to accommodate for the endwise play of the coupler.

As best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the front end of the coupler-head 6 is provided with an arcuate recess, seat, or rentrant portion 17, within which is loosely tted they correspondingly-convexed rear end of a movable oroscillatory head member 18, the two members being connected by means of top and bottom plates 19 and 20, each of which is rigidly connected to the fixed head member 6 by means of suitable fastenings 21, and the movable member being pivotally connected to the plates by the upper and lower vertically-alined pivots 22. By this manner of connection it will be seen that the movable head member 18 may swing horizontally or oscillate upon the relatively fixed member 6, so as to prevent disengagement of a pair of couplers when the cars are rounding a curve. Th front end of each plate 19 and 2O is inclined rearwardly from the middle thereof in line with the pivot 22 to form shoulders 23, and correspondingly-inclined shoulders 24 are formed upon the top and bottom of the movable head member, whereby the shoulders 241.- are adapted to strike the corresponding shoulders 23, and thereby limit the lateral swing of the movable head member.

In the front end of the movable head member 18 a longitudinal recess is formed to provide a socket or pocket 25, which is located at one side of the longitudinal center of the member, and the opposite side of the member is reduced to form a tongue or projection 26, shaped to have a working lit within the socket of a cooperating coupler. Throughthere is a longitudinal passage 27, which is disposed at one side of the pivot 22 with its rear end portion bowed inwardly to pierce the backof the member at the longitudinal l center thereof, while the forward portion of the passage, which lenters the tongue 26,'has

couplers are in coupled engagement, asindicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the front bowed terminals 28 of the passages 27 are in mutual alinement or registered,'so as to form a continuous or uninterrupted passage from one coupler to the other, the rubber or other suitable yieldable washers or packing-rings 29 insuring an air tight joint'between the two passages.

To insure a continuous' uninterrupted communication between the passages 9 in the fixed member 6 and the rear end of the passage 27 in the oscillatory member 18, externally-screw-threaded short pipe-sections or nipples 30 and 31, respectively, are fitted to said passages, the rear end of the movable member 18 being provided with a` recess 32 to aord an interspace between the two nipples, the latter being connected by a flexible tube 33, thereby providing a lieXible joint or coupling between the two passages 9 and 27. By this construction the movable member 18 may swing laterally without interrupting the communication between the passages 9 and 27. It will here be stated that the arcs of the convexed rear end of the-movable member 18 and the recess 17 in the fixed member 6 are struck from the pivot 22 as a center in order that there may be no binding of the fixed and movable members.

From the foregoing descriptionit is apparent that each coupler is hung intermediately from the bottom of a car in a guide which is fixed against horizontal movements and is capable of vertical movements, and when two cars are brought together the projections of the couplers thereof enter the sockets of the relatively opposite couplers, and thereby automatically eect a coupling of the air-pipes, the couplers of course yielding longitudinally under the buflng strain, and thereby preventing damage to the coup- 1ers and rigging therefor by the force of the impact.

As hereinbefore set forth, the train-pipe couplers are hung belowk the car-couplers to be out of the way thereof and are also entirely independent of the couplers, and therefore may be applied to any type of car without regard to the character of car-coupler employed. Furthermore, opposite train-pipe couplers are free to be separated longitudinally without removing any fastening devices whatsoever, whereby the couplers freely and automatically separate when the cars areuncoupled, and should the car-coupling break the train-pipe couplers will separate without damage thereto or to any part of the rigging therefor.

Having thus describedthe invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

ICO

IIC

l. A train-pipe coupler, embodying a relative fixed member having an airpassage therethrough, a movable member pivotally connected to the fixed member and provided with an air-passage, anda flexible tubular connection between the two passages to permit swinging movement of the movable member without interrupting the communication between the two air-passages.

2. A train-pipe coupler, embodying a relatively fixed member having an air-passage therethrough, and provided in its front end with a seat or recess, a movable member having an air-passage therethrough and pivoted Within the seat of the fixed member, the rear end of the movable member being cut away across the rear end of the air-passage thereof, and a flexible tubular coupling connecting the air-passages and lying in the cutaway portion of the movable member.

3. A train-pipe coupler, embodying a relatively tixed member having an air-passage formed therethrough and provided in its front end with a segmental seat, a movable member having an air-passage formed therethrough with its rear convened end pivoted within the seat and having a working fit against the concaved back of the seat, said conveXed rear end also havinga recess intersecting the air-passage of the member, and a tubular flexible coupling connecting the adjacent ends of`the air-passages and lying in the recess of the movable member.

4.-. A train-pipe coupler, embodying a relatively fiXed member having an air-passage formed therethrough and provided in its forward end with a seat, a movable member pivoted within the seat and provided in its front end and at one side of its longitudinal center with a socket and at its opposite side with a tongue shaped to correspond with the socket,

there also being an air-passage extending through the back of the movable member and into the tongue with its forward end directed laterally inward into communication with the socket, the back of the movable member being provided with a recess intersecting the rear 4end of the air-passage, and a tubular flexible coupling connecting the air-passages of the members and lying in the recess in the back of the movable member.

5. A train-pipe coupler comprising a relatively xed member having a seat in its forward end and provided with an air-passage communicating with the seat, plates secured to opposite sides of the member and projected at the front thereof, a movable member having its rear end located Within the seat of the fixed member and pivoted to the projected portions of the plates, the reduced portion of the movable member forming stopshoulders for engagement with the plates to limit the pivotal movement of the member, said movable member also having an air-passage formed therethrough, and a tubular flexible coupling between the air-passages of the two members.

6. In a coupler, the combination with a hanger, of an abutment carried thereby, a coupler having a stem working through the abutment, a guide-frame carried bythe abutment and slidably receiving the rear end of the stem, and a spring bearing at its front end against the stem and at its rear end against the guide-frame.

7. In a coupler, the combination with a hanger, of a vertically-movable abutment carried thereby, a coupler having a stem working through the abutment, a frame carried by and movable with the abutment and slidably supporting the rear end of the stem, and a spring bearing at its front end against the stem and at its rear end against the frame.

8. In a coupler, the combination with a hanger, of a vertically-movable abutment carried by the hanger, a coupler having a polygonal stem working through a correspondingly-shaped opening in the abutment and provided with an air-passage, a tubular stem member connected to the rear end ofthe airpassage and rigidly carried by the polygonal stem portion, a yoke-shaped guide-frame carried by the abutment and slidably receiving the rear end of the tubular stem member, and a helical spring embracing said tubular stem member with its front end bearing against the polygonal stem portion of the coupler and its rear end bearing against the guide-frame.

THOMAS J. THATCHER.

C. C. SHEPHERD, E. L. BENNER. 

